He was drafted in to replace Liam Lawson after the opening two races of the current campaign, but has failed to deliver consistent results. Red Bull‘s decision to demote him means that he won’t be on the grid next season for the first time since making his debut in 2021. Tsunoda is convinced that he will return at some stage, though.
Taking to Instagram, he posted an emotionally-charged statement which read: “I’m not finished yet. Finding out I won’t have a race seat in 2026 was incredibly tough.
“But I’m determined to work harder than ever with Red Bull as test and reserve driver to develop with the team, and prove I deserve a place on the grid.
“Life’s full of setbacks, and this is mine. It’s not going to deter me from being the best F1 driver I can be.”
Tsunoda has only scored 33 points in 2025 and has not finished higher than sixth following his move to Red Bull earlier this year. He came fifth at the season opener in Australia, but that was when he was still driving for Racing Bulls.
Speaking at last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, Tsunoda unsuccessfully tried to argue his case by insisting that he had been able to get closer to Verstappen than any of his predecessors.
“I think I’m showing what I can do, and I don’t think within my seat [others have] consistently [been] able to drive like this close,” said the Japanese driver.
“I didn’t see much drivers like this, able to achieve like this step in the middle of the season and went through very, very difficult moments with the beginning of the season.”
Meanwhile, former world champion Jacques Villeneuve has urged Tsunoda to be thankful for his F1 career, having stayed on the grid for the last five years.
“Tsunoda should be happy, thankful that he’s had such a long and fruitful career in the first place. He got his chance, it did not work out,” said Villeneuve.
“But he has made a big name for himself. He still has a long future in racing, and he will still earn a lot of money racing. He’ll go back, maybe to race in Japan. He is a star now in Japan and normally that will last forever. So he has made his name, he is fine.”